DOMO’s Performance Fibers with enhanced biodegradability

· Abstract

DOMO Chemicals is a leading engineering materials company and highly integrated solution provider committed to the sustainable future of polyamides.

Caring is our formula to create value – for our customers and consumers, for our teams and our people, for our shareholders as well as for the wider society and communities, in which we operate.

As a family-owned company with its roots and headquarters in Ghent, Belgium, DOMO Chemicals serves cus- tomers and partners globally. DOMO Chemicals has nine production sites and several sales offices around the world.

DOMO Performance Fibers offers high value-added solutions based on polyamide 6.6 fibers (staple fibers, crimped tow and tow for flock). Based in Valence, France, DOMO Performance Fibers has been producing world-class PA66 fibers since 1955 for such industries as nonwoven for abrasives and aeronautics, flooring for carpets, high performance textiles, flock for upholstery, automotive interiors and flooring, and many other consumer products.

Sustainability is deeply anchored in the company’s vision and mission and is one of its strategic pillars. DOMO is implementing a carefully planned transformation for its sustainability journey to be successful.

DOMO is also pledging to support its customers by enhancing its offering of sustainable solutions.

This symposium will present one of DOMO’s “outside of the box” sustainable solutions that transforms synthetic polyamide 6.6 fibers into biodegradable materials once landfilled.

Enhanced biodegradability

The pollution generated by the textile industry has a huge impact on the planet, and the reasons are quite easy to understand. Clothing is probably the most common item that people buy in today’s world.  In recent years, the average number of items of clothing purchased annually by individuals has increased drastically, ultimately leading to major environmental problems, such as water, air and solid waste pollution.

According to the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation, more than 70% of end-of-life clothing is landfilled or incine- rated. When landfilled (under anaerobic conditions), traditional synthetic materials like nylon 6.6 may take between 50 and 100 years to decompose. Compare this to DOMO’s polyamide 6.6 fibers with enhanced biode- gradability, which may take less than five years to decompose.

This is possible thanks to the addition of special additives in the polyamide 6.6 matrix.

These additives facilitate the access of bacteria to the microscopic structure of the fiber, by “swelling” the fiber when exposed to high humidity, and by triggering the biofilm formation process through a biological mecha- nism known as “quorum sensing”.

Once the biodegradation process starts, the polyamide 6.6 is intrinsically food for bacteria, thanks to its chemical structure based on carbon and hydrogen.

What is generated from the polyamide 6.6 fiber biodegradation?  Just biogas and biomass.

Carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gasses. However, in well-controlled landfills, biogas is not re- leased directly into the atmosphere, but burned. In more sustainable landfills, biogas is even used for power generation.

The residues of polyamide 6.6 fiber biodegradation are basically organic compounds, in the same way as resi- dues from other natural biodegradable materials, such as paper and cotton. In theory, the residues could even be used as fertilizer, though this is not done in practice, as residues from landfills remain buried indefinitely in the soil.

In our specific case, we have demonstrated a biodegradation of more than 90% in less than five years. We have used the ASTM D5511-12 standard to demonstrate the real biodegradation in anaerobic conditions.

Therefore, our polyamide 6.6 fibers with enhanced biodegradability are not compostable products and are not subject to certification standards for compostable products but have been specifically developed for landfill disposal.

*Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under High-Solids Anaerobic-Digestion Conditions (equivalent to ISO 15985)。

This article is reprinted with permission from the European Flocking Association. Unauthorized secondary distribution is prohibited